Harvest Barrie

A Weekend To Remember

There is always an expectation that we will get a return on our investment.  No one wants to be like the guy who made a million dollars – out of two million!  Most of the time we do get a return, in line with the saying, “You only get out of something, what you put into it.”  That is for sure true in a marriage.

Many people go into marriage 50/50.  I put in my half and she puts in her half and together we make a whole out of it.  It doesn’t work that way!  Marriage is for two adults who each bring their healthy whole and God puts their 100/100 together to make one new whole.  The math doesn’t add up but that is how it works in God’s kingdom.

Margaret and I regularly invest into our marriage.  Recently we went to “A Weekend To Remember” marriage conference sponsored by Family Life Canada.  We have been asked, “Do you really need that after almost 30 years together?”  Here is what we get from our investment:

1.    Remember the basics!  You don’t get to finesse the puck into the net if you can’t get to the net with the puck!  (That’s a hint for all you sports minded dudes.)  It is amazing how we can forget the basic elements that make a relationship work well.  We need reminders about time and communication and our differences.
2.    Get a handle on it!  We often come away with a new way to verbalize issues.  We have words to put to things we are dealing with, for ourselves and for others we talk to.  We have a handle to put on a problem.
3.    Resources!  There are some great books out there that are standards, and there are new ones that bring perspective and insight.  I picked up one on “Coffee dates for couples.”  Time with my friend and coffee – now that’s a win/win!!
4.    Away with reason!  No, I don’t mean get rid of “reason,” I mean get away with purpose.  It’s good to go away, not just for time as a couple, but to take time to think and talk about us as a couple.  “How are we doing?” is a great question to ask regularly, even when the answer means we have some work to do. 

Even after 30 years we have more to learn and apply.  We have more to learn to help others.  It is worth the investment!  Want to invest a little yourself?  There is another “Weekend To Remember” in Niagara Falls in February.  That sounds like another win/win!  Now is the time to plan!  For more information go to www.powertochange.com

A War of Attrition

Sometimes in a conflict two armies get positioned so neither has an advantage.  This is not a peace treaty, or even a truce, or even a cessation of hostilities.  It is not a stalemate.  It is a continuation of hostilities where men and women are continuing to die and be maimed.  It is called a war of attrition because each side is losing resources.  Without something changing the winner will be the side with the most to lose, so to speak. 

Perhaps it is not the best picture to use but there is another war of attrition going on.  Every organization that is empowered by volunteers faces it.  In the ongoing battle to serve, people who have been faithful, for various reasons, are unable to carry on.  On our shift at Barrie Out of the Cold, two members are not back this year because of health struggles.  We have recruited two couples to replace them but there are many positions not filled.  Sixteen men are needed for various 6 a.m. – 8 a.m. shifts.  Check out the needs for this particular organization online.

I was told most volunteer driven organizations are experiencing a slow response to recruiting efforts this year.  One of the practices that makes some organizations successful is that they are always recruiting.  (That doesn’t mean everyone who applies gets in!)  These armies know that sometime, somebody is going to have to stop serving and they will need to replace them.  Everyone who oversees a ministry here at Harvest knows this is true.  We are always recruiting, and we are looking for you!  (Of course, as we learned, we are not looking for volunteers, but slaves of Jesus Christ!) 

One of the marks of a true disciple is that they work for Christ.  Both inside Harvest and out there, your efforts are needed in a battle worth fighting.  Quite honestly, we have an incredible number of people doing double-duty.  (Thank you!)  How about you?  Can I ask you to consider signing on?  I would be glad to talk about it if you have questions.  It would be great if you leave a comment to tell us where help is needed.   Sign on, strengthen resources, bring a change and tip the scale!

Roger

A Thousand Ways to Serve

Sometimes we get caught up in the extremely false notion that there is little that I, as an individual, can do to help someone else.  There are likely a lot of reasons for this, including at the top of the list, a huge lack of understanding or disregard for the power of prayer.  With prayer as the baseline for getting involved in what God is doing in someone else’s life, we need to get just a little more creative in finding ways to help.

Some of the ways we jump in are tried and proven.  Make a meal, watch the kids, helping to clean the house or yard or garage.  Just providing a little of the normal, routine everyday energy to get the normal, routine, everyday, stuff done can be a huge boost to someone!

We can discount some of the ways we help because we are part of a team or a larger volunteer effort.  We possibly fall into thinking, “It only counts if I do it all on my own.”   It should be obvious that there has never been a movement, an outpouring of support, or a great effort of relief without individuals stepping up to be a part of something bigger than themselves. 

So here are a few, (out of thousands), creative ways to help others:
1.    Drive patients to their cancer appointments
2.    Volunteer at the hospital
3.    Give blood (“It’s in you to give” – I love that tag!)
4.    Pay for someone to go to a conference
5.    Donate body parts while you are still living.  (Okay, I better explain that one!)  By way of example, here is a request that came across my desk via Unity Christian High School.

Glenn Van Zeumuren, a parent of students in OACS Christian schools and the coach of the TDChristian Cross country team, has been in the hospital for four weeks and has been diagnosed with a bone marrow disorder. He now needs a stem cell/bone marrow transplant.  A transplant can only occur if a match for his marrow is found. The best chance of a match is from people with a similar ethnic background as he is European.  Please go to www.blood.ca  and register to be a potential donor, for him or someone else.  Registering to be a donor takes five minutes and all that is involved is a cheek swab to see if you are eligible. This is a worldwide registry so it doesn’t matter where you live. 

While I know individuals who have given a kidney to a family member or friend, the above is not nearly as threatening to one’s own health.  Who knows, maybe you or I could be a match and an answer to prayer?

You may be thinking that some of those suggestions are just a little out there or even still beyond your means so here is one I think is in the realm of possibility for just about anyone:  make a phone call.  Ask the person how they are doing.  Ask specifically if there is something you can pray for them.  Then before hanging up – pray.  Trust me, it will help!

Roger

Food Bank

When we moved into our new offices we each were assigned an office with built in desks and cupboards in various kitchen styles.   Mike’s is so retro!  Mine is just classy, without being ostentatious!  We had some stuff lying around from moving and I found a paper bag that was left over from our last collection for the food bank.  I thought it quite entertaining to put it up on my wall as “art” since we didn’t have much at that moment.  It read, “Our cupboards are bare but you can help fill them.”  I would leave my office cupboard doors open so everyone could see how empty they were.  Ha,Ha!

I have taken it down because now we have stuff on the shelves, (and it never was very funny).  We don’t have bare shelves here that should be holding food.  But I know two kinds of places that do.  The Barrie Food Bank’s shelves are bare.  And that means some of the people who depend on them have empty shelves also. 

We are handing out empty paper bags so in November we can change that.  By filling them we can fill the shelves at the Food Bank and in turn the shelves of those who need the food.  We are the ones that can help fill the shelves.  We can bring our filled bags back here each Sunday, drop them off at our office (112 Caplan Avenue) or deliver them directly to the Food Bank.  Perhaps you would consider volunteering there.

The Food Bank was so thankful that we helped out in the middle of the summer.  That can be a hard time for them.  But now they are heading into an even busier season.  Now is the time to make a difference.  Fill up the bag!  Fill up the cupboards!

Roger

Operation Remembrance Day

It is always fun to hear about an act of kindness that is well-planned and carried out with military precision.  It’s even more fun to be part of one!  A coordinated attack on someone’s lawn to rid it of enemy leaves is one some of our small groups took on recently.  It’s dangerous, but please try it at home anyway!

We are planning another kind of strike of love.  We want to run a coordinated operation to establish a beachhead of gratitude among our veterans.  On Remembrance Day we want to stand with them to remember the fallen.  We want to remember and thank God for their sacrifice and our freedom.  We want to say thank you with our presence.

Then we want to make it tangible by going into their midst and handing out 200 Tim cards.  We won’t touch all our veterans but we will touch some.  We hope that as we affirm their service on our behalf they will be encouraged and sense our gratefulness.  You can be part of this planned act of kindness.  Contact the office to sign up for “Operation Remembrance Day!”

Roger

Remembrance Day

Recently I was given a Timmies gift card in appreciation of some small thing I had done.  Each time I use it I am reminded of the gratitude it expresses.  Sometimes when I pick up a coffee all by myself I think I am really trying to recapture the feeling of community and friendship that often comes over sharing a coffee.  Funny how we call it that; we don’t actually share the coffee!  We share friendship while we each drink our own.  Drinking the same coffee would just be creepy!

While this is not a commercial, we do want to share a Timmies with some men and women.  We want to express appreciation and extend our sense of community to them by giving them a Tim card.  Who are they?  They are the veterans who have served our country and us and those currently serving.  It's a privilege for us to be located so close to CFB Borden and on Remembrance Day we want to stand with them to remember the fallen.  We want to remember and thank God for their sacrifice and our freedom.  We want to say thank you with our presence. 

Then we want to make it tangible by going into their midst and handing out 200 cards.  We won’t touch all of our veterans, but we will touch some.  And we hope they can have a sense of friendship, community and our gratitude while they share a coffee with a friend.  You can be part of this precision strike of love!  Contact the office to sign up for “Operation Remembrance Day”.

Roger

Telling Your Story

 In Mark 5:1-20 we read of a man whose encounter with Christ was dramatic and decisive!  One would think taking this man “on the road’ would have been a no-brainer.  People would have proclaimed, “What a story, what a testimony!”  But Jesus said, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 

It can be hard to tell our story at home.  Sometimes we are afraid of rocking the boat.  We may not know how those we love most will take the fact that we have been changed forever!  Sometimes we just take it for granted that the people around us know.  Sometimes they don’t know, or at least don’t know enough.  Sometimes they need to hear it from our own lips.  Sometimes we need to tell our story for our own good.

Writing out our story, in part or in whole, in summary or colorful detail, is a great discipline to undertake.  Peter says it this way, “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”   It could be considered practice but it sounds more like praise!

So often our story of what God has done for us and how he has shown mercy on us is the story of people in our lives.   It is of how God used somebody, or a lot of somebodies.  Some of those stories can be read at www.harvestloves.ca.  Perhaps yours should be also...for all kinds of reasons!

Roger

Together for the Gospel - Phil. 2:1-11

One of the greatest sections of Scripture is the early church hymn that Paul quotes in Philippians 2:5-11.  It reveals truth about our great Saviour that moves us to praise.  And so we do.  And so we will, as will everything else in heaven, and on earth and under the earth!  That will be magnificent!  We’re going to practice a little bit of it Sunday morning!

The verses detail for us the movement of God’s love from heaven to earth.  They reveal the extravagant length to which Jesus went for our salvation.  They show him to be the greatest giver and the greatest gift.  And so they end with continuing, eternal praise!  What other response could there be?

Actually, there is something else.  But what could it be?  The answer to that question is found in Paul’s purpose for quoting the hymn.  So what is Paul driving at with this incredibly rich and moving example?  Sometimes we get so lost in the wonder of the illustration that we forget why it is there.  What is the basic point? 

I believe it calls us to action in the here and now.  Read it.  Read all around it.  Ponder it.  Come ready, come humbled, come worship the King!

Looking forward to being with you all, in his presence.

Roger


Words I can’t say or spell but know well!

Recently I came across a couple of words that intrigued me.  I wouldn’t know how to spell them if I heard them and if I saw them I wouldn’t know how to say them.  But I realized I know them well.  Too well, actually!  Here is one of them:

"acedia" – 1.  Sloth  2.  Laziness or indifference in religious matters.

It's an ancient term signifying profound indifference and inability to care about things that matter, even to the extent that you no longer care that you can't care.

In a modern form it is known as “compassion fatigue”.  It is seen when charities trying to help people through one crisis after another suddenly find people are “tapped out” and no longer responding to the call.  It certainly is not due to lack of resources but rather to a lack of will. 

Kathleen Norris in her latest book, “Acedia and Me”,  says, “If the Christian church has made too much of the vice of pride, which seduces us into thinking too highly of ourselves, it has not made enough of sloth, which allows us to settle for being less than we can be, both as individuals and a society."  

When I think about how this affects me personally, I realize that I can at least have this tendency if not the full-blown attitude.  It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking, “I do enough, I give enough, I care enough!”  I’m not out to save the world on my own but if I begin to think that I can’t make a difference or simply fail to put my hand to something that does make a difference, I think I’ve crossed a line.

Thinking this way drives me to hard decisions.  What will I give myself to?  This year Margaret and I have again committed to serving with Barrie Out Of The Cold.  We need a few more people for our shift and there are holes to fill everywhere.  It really isn’t much, but it is something.  It fights “acedia” in me and that alone makes it a worthwhile effort!  Would you consider joining an effort to make a difference somewhere?

Roger

Creatures of Time

We are creatures of time.  Our lives are filled with markers that remind us that time is marching on relentlessly!  Most of them are so common we forget that they show eternity is rushing upon us.  Wrist watches, the clock on the wall, the changing slant of the sun, day following night, following day.  You get the idea.

Once in a while we get a marker that stirs our slumber a little more, and I don’t mean the alarm clock.   The yearly ones are good examples.  I recently renewed my license plate sticker.   How many kilometers will be on the car next year?  (I can’t remember how many were on last year!)  Will it even last till next year?  I put the 2010 sticker on in a different driveway of a different house.  How much has changed over the past year!

Another marker could be a crisis that washes over us.  All of a sudden we are left wondering what life will be like in a week, a month, a year.  It is amazing how quickly we adapt and fall into new routines.  We soon forget what it used to be like and settle in for the long haul.   How sad it will be if we fail to realize several things at markers like these, or even every day.

1.    Each new day is a gift from God to be savoured and enjoyed.
2.    Right now counts forever!
3.    Age accelerates our sense that time is passing quickly.
4.    At some moment we will step out of time.

A good summary of how I see it is this: I have this great day for a very short while to make a difference for eternity.  That’s a pretty tall order for a single day!   I’m glad that I have a promise from God in 1 Corinthians 15:58.  We were reminded of it a short while ago by Pastor Paul Whittingstall.  Our labor is not in vain!  So, tick tock.